ODFW-Cabezon remaining open; bottomfish open to all-depth beginning October 1

FYI...

The recreational cabezon season was originally scheduled to close Sept. 30, 2013. However, because the 2013 cabezon quota will not be met by that date, anglers will be able to keep cabezon through Dec. 31, 2013 or until the quota is met, whichever comes first.  The 1 fish sub-bag limit and 16 inch minimum size limit remain the same.

Reminder:  Beginning October 1, the 30 fathom restriction for bottomfish (groundfish) fishing is removed, fishing is allowed at all-depths.

Cool!

So when are we going?

I'm wondering if all those Cabezon have reduced the crab population more than normal this year.  Seems like there are a lot of cabs out there, but not many crab.

I'm wondering if all those Cabezon have reduced the crab population more than normal this year.  Seems like there are a lot of cabs out there, but not many crab.

I'm curious too. My wife's recent big cab had literally hundreds of identically sized baby crabs in its stomach - I'm talking an insane amount here. They had shells about 1/2 an inch wide and it was just full of them.

I'd bet that cabezon make up a very, very small amount or the total crab taken by predators. 

I'm wondering if all those Cabezon have reduced the crab population more than normal this year.  Seems like there are a lot of cabs out there, but not many crab.

I'm curious too. My wife's recent big cab had literally hundreds of identically sized baby crabs in its stomach - I'm talking an insane amount here. They had shells about 1/2 an inch wide and it was just full of them.

Saw the same thing in the cabezon stomach's I've seen dissected out at Makah Bay.

I'd bet that cabezon make up a very, very small amount or the total crab taken by predators.

Also crabs eat each other!

From the google machine:

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/182/m182p221.pdf

From the Discussion:

Cannibalism seems to be a common behavior among
brachyuran crabs, largely overlooked despite the im-
portance it may have on crab population dynamics.
Evidence of cannibalism between age classes in crabs
has been reported for several decades (e.g. Dungeness
crab: Butler 1954, Gotshall 1977. Stevens et al. 1982

I'd bet that cabezon make up a very, very small amount or the total crab taken by predators.

Yeah, I'd put in with that. I mean, I don't really care one way or another; cabs eating crabs is just the order of nature, I'm mostly just curious. I was surprised less by the quantity of crabs in the fish's gut than by the lack of variety. Kelp greenling, rockfish, lingcod all seem to have a variety of fish and invertebrates in their stomachs, in my limited experience.

My guess would be that the ten million or so pounds harvested by commercial crabbers would have a greater effect on the total catchable population.

Sent from my Motorola Flip phone.

I'd bet that cabezon make up a very, very small amount or the total crab taken by predators.

Yeah, I'd put in with that. I mean, I don't really care one way or another; cabs eating crabs is just the order of nature, I'm mostly just curious. I was surprised less by the quantity of crabs in the fish's gut than by the lack of variety. Kelp greenling, rockfish, lingcod all seem to have a variety of fish and invertebrates in their stomachs, in my limited experience.

You will also find hermit crabs and small fish in their bellies too. I think they munch on what's available

which brings up a question that we discussed out at hoebuck over the weekend. Has anyone ever used a crab jig for bottom fishing?

My wife has a small has been using a small crab jig on her line, above the jig, where you would normally have a shrimp fly.  Greenling love it. 

I saw large crab bodies at Cabelas a year or so ago, but haven't seen them since.

Sent from my GD300

My guess would be that the ten million or so pounds harvested by commercial crabbers would have a greater effect on the total catchable population.

Sent from my Motorola Flip phone.

TOTALLY AGREE! Off-topic, but my #1 complaint about recreational fisheries management is that our impact is insignificant in many cases compared to the commercial harvest. I realize in some cases recreational harvest is a significant portion of all harvest, but those cases are the minority.